Catfish Corner lost to blaze

Customers evacuated; no injuries

Patrick Dove/Standard-Times San Angelo emergency personnel were dispatched to a structure fire Wednesday afternoon in the 1300 block of West Beauregard Avenue at Catfish Corner. Firefighters were unable to enter the structure to fight the fire until power was turned off by American Electric Power.

Patrick Dove/Standard-Times A San Angelo firefighter operates a ladder to hose down a fire at Catfish Corner on Wednesday.

Patrick Dove/Standard-Times San Angelo firefighters prepare to enter Catfish Corner, a local San Angelo restaurant in the 1300 block of West Beauregard Avenue, as a fire continues to burn in the building. The building was a total loss and no injuries were reported in the blaze.

San Angelo emergency personnel were dispatched to a structure fire Wednesday afternoon in the 1300 block of West Beauregard Avenue at Catfish Corner.

SAN ANGELO, Texas - Catfish Corner, a long-standing San Angelo restaurant that’s frame sat smoldering Wednesday night, will likely have to be bulldozed, a fire official said.

A crowd coalesced near the parking lot behind the business for hours as they watched San Angelo firefighters douse the building from all sides.

Firefighters, who were dispatched about 3 p.m. Wednesday, were expected to remain through the night putting out the blaze, entering the building and checking for pockets of fire.

Battalion Chief Royce Owen said it started as a small, arcing fire on an electricity panel in the kitchen. His crew was unable to make an interior attack because they couldn’t turn the power off from the outside.

American Electric Power arrived about 30 minutes after the department called, Owen said.

AEP spokesman Fred Hernandez said he had heard about the fire and was glad that nobody was injured. He was also expressed sympathy for the loss of property.

“Our records indicate we received notification at 3:21,” he said, “and a crew arrived at 3:41.”

He said at the time of the call crews were responding to weather-related outages.

Hernandez said “a few people” in the immediate area surrounding the business were without power temporarily, but by 8 p.m. he believed power had been restored.

At times flames burst from under the eaves and through the restaurant’s roof in the 1300 block of West Beauregard Avenue. When west-facing windows were broken, flames burst from that end of the building.

Four pumper trucks, a ladder unit and a rescue truck were called to attack and assist. Traffic was diverted around the area for several hours, and management and employees of the restaurant watched from the edge of the parking lot.

Owen was informed the building was insured.

Juanita Huff said she was waiting tables when she heard a pop like a firecracker. A few minutes later, someone yelled, “Fire!”

She said there were probably a dozen people in the restaurant at the time. Owen said no one was hurt in the blaze.

“We started screaming for everyone to get out,” Huff said.

She went in and out of the restaurant several times to make sure everyone was clear.

John Zavala, who vocally alarmed to the rest of the business, was cooking when he heard the “boom.” He said he thought whatever made the sound had thrown off the breaker, causing the lights to flicker before turning off, so he went to check.

What he saw was fire covering the wall where the box was, Zavala said, so he hollered to his boss there was a fire.

“I tried to turn it off with a fire extinguisher,” he said, “but saw there was too much heat. That’s when I got out. There was nothing else that I could do.”

One customer, Huff said, stayed in the restaurant until he finished his peach cobbler.

As of 6 p.m. smoke continued billowing out of the building, and fire crews were attacking the blaze from three directions.

About 25 firefighters assisted.

Red Cross and Salvation Army were on scene by late afternoon to help the crew who “were running low on fuel,” Owen said.

Fire Marshal Ross Coleman will investigate the fire, Owen said. He estimated about 50,000 gallons were used as of 6 p.m.

“We are certainly sorry to see it go,” he said. “I promise you that. If we could have done anything to help ... unfortunately we couldn’t get access to the building.”

He expressed concern about AEP’s response time to fires such as Wednesday’s blaze.

“That’s been an ongoing problem with us, and it needs to be addressed,” he said.

Clementine Urista, who has lived a block away for the past 20 years, said she heard a “boom” as she was pulling up to her house. She parked her vehicle and walked over in time to see customers and staff run out and firetrucks arrive.

She said during Lent that Catfish Corner was always popular.

“It’s going to take a toll on us Catholics,” she said, “but thanks be to God no one got injured. That’s the important thing.”